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Overview of London
8.9 million population
Population grew steadily, dropped, then grew again (urbanisation, counter urbanisation, re-urbanisation)
Few old people - counter urbanisation for retirement
Lots of young people (working age) - having children
London’s importance within its region
Companies are attracted to the region because it is close to London → increases jobs and wealth
The South East and East of England are the two biggest regional economies in the UK
London’s importance within the country
UK capital city
Essential part of economy
Over 20% of UK’s income comes from London
Centre of UK’s transport system → has road, rail, air and shipping links
London’s importance within the wider world
A world city '
A alpha++ city (2) - integrated with the global economy
Has more foreign banks than anywhere else
Where headquarters of many large international companies are based
E.g. KPMG
Attracts investment and migrants worldwide
International migration in London
In 2014, around 100 thousand more people arrived in London than left
National migration in London
Young adults move for work/study
Older people move out of the city (counter-urbanisation)
Migration effects on city
London has top-class universities (e.g. UCL, LSE) so there is a large student population. Students come globally.
20% of students are from overseas
Population density is very high
over 5000 people per km^2
Character changes → people with the same ethnicity tend to settle in the same place
Southall has a large Indian market
Features of London: culture and ethnicity
International migration → high ethnic diversity
Some areas e.g. Chinatown have a high proportion of people from one ethnic bacground → provides food, music so people are attracted
Many big festivals celebrating different cultures and ethnic backgrounds e.g. the annual Afro-Caribbean Notting Hill Carnival
Features of London: housing
Rich areas (e.g. Sutton - suburbs) have modern apartments/large houses with gardens
Poor areas (e.g. Newham - east London) have high housing density and houses are split to house multiple families
Features of London: leisure
West End (theatres)
Museums (e.g. British Museum)
Art galleries (e.g. National gallery)
Fashion events (e.g. London Fashion Week)
Large parks (e.g. Hyde Park)
Popular visitor attractions (e.g. Tower of London, London Eye)
Features of London: consumption
Consumes a huge amount of resources (e.g. food and water)
Londoners consume nearly 7 million tonnes of food every year, most of it is imported
Challenges: housing availability
The population is growing rapidly, homes have not been built at the same pace
House prices are some of the least affordable in the world → workers on lower incomes can’t afford to live near their workplace
The Mayor of London’s office has calculated 66,000 new homes are needed each year; recent new building has averaged 20,000 per year
Challenges: transport provision
Roads are often congested
Average traffic speed between 7am and 7pm in central London is only 8mph
Around 1 million people use trains that are overcrowded
The population increase causes the transport network to be put under considerable strain
Challenges: access to services
Healthcare → free on the NHS but services are often overwhelmed (waiting times increased, ambulances have to cope with increased traffic)
Education → best state schools e.g. Holland Park are over-subscribed. Wealthy parents send children to fee-paying schools, poorer parents send children to under-performing schools
Challenges: inequality
London is home to richest and poorest people in the UK
Unhealthy lifestyles (e.g. drinking, smoking) is more common in deprived areas → lower life expectancy
Poplar is one mile away from Canary Wharf and has a lower life expectancy (79 to 88)
Sustainable solutions for transport provision challenge
Crossrail (the Elizabeth line) was recently built → increases rail capacity in central London by 10%
Rail and Underground capacity being increased and running more trains every hour
Congestion charges → discourages drivers from entering city centre (especially diesel cars)
